Fund raising 3
Even with all of this money at stake, relatively little theoretical research has
critiqued the practice and ethics of fund raising (Carbone, 1986; O’Neill, 1997). Existing
fund raising research primarily focuses on finding the most efficient and effective
methods for obtaining public donations. However, a few scholars are working toward
expanding fund raising research. Kelly (1991, 1998) has developed the beginnings of a
theoretical basis for the practice of fund raising, framing fund raising in terms of public
relations theory. O’Neil (1997) notes that scholars have begun investigating the ethical
beliefs of fund raisers and donors and suggests that further work can and should be done
on issues of fund raising codes and donor control. Our own investigation of the literature
reveals little critical examination of the presence and consequences of power relations in
the fund raising process. Seeley (1957) discusses the reward and punishment power that
a fund raising organization has over volunteers and donors. Bok (1982) looks at how
donor motives of control may cause problems in university fund raising. However, there
are also issues of how power and control are wielded by fund raisers and donors, how the
fund raising process uses what some describe as pseudo-relations, and what the
implications are of relying on corporate practices for the nonprofit task of raising funds.
All of these areas are ready for further exploration.
Therefore, through interviews with fund raisers associated with major
universities, this study explores how university fund raising is a power laden and
communicative process. We argue that the language of fund raisers at major universities
reveals an ambiguous and problematic juxtaposition of corporate ideology and
friendships in the fund raising process. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts
reveals strong fund raiser tendencies to rely on corporate standards and practices in fund
Convention